Charging A Leased EV For Free In Texas With Octopus Electric Vehicles – CleanTechnica

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About a month ago, Octopus Energy shared some details with us about its collaboration with Texas Rivian owners where they can charge with 100% clean electricity without needing to buy a home solar power system. They can just sign up with Octopus Energy. 

It turns out that separately from the Rivian collaboration, Octopus also has its own electric vehicle leasing program which provides free home EV charging. The free home charging is for those who lease an EV from Octopus Electric Vehicles and sign up for Octopus Energy, which is 100% renewable electricity.

The fact that the electricity is 100% renewable matters very much because one of the phony criticisms of EVs is that they operate on electricity generated by coal. However, in some cases, it is possible to sign up with a clean energy retailer such as Octopus and charge on clean electricity, meaning no fossil fuels are used. Another option is to purchase a home solar power system, or a home wind turbine system, or some combination. This latter option is not available to some homeowners because of the cost. Additionally, electricity used to charge EVs typically comes from a mix of sources, such as solar power, wind power, geothermal, hydroelectric power, and fossil fuels, not only coal.

For a Texan who wants to lease an affordable EV, with an option to use 100% clean, renewable electricity, Octopus Electric Vehicles may be a solution. Nathan Wyeth, co-lead of Octopus Vehicles US, answered some questions about its EV leasing program.

For the free EV home charging, does that require owning a home with a garage where an EV charger can be installed? And does the homeowner pay for buying and installing the home charger?

Octopus EV’s revolutionary free home charging offer for customers who lease an electric car from us extends to anyone who signs up for the Intelligent Octopus energy plan from our sister company Octopus Energy. 

This game-changing technology gives customers the easiest way to home-charge their cars by optimizing their charging schedule to charge when the grid is greenest and cheapest. Octopus Energy passes those cost-to-serve savings to customers in the form of a discounted energy rate for all of their household energy usage.

On top of this discount, every month, Octopus EV customers automatically receive a credit on their energy bill for all their EV charging – there’s nothing they need to do except plug in.

Customers can use Intelligent Octopus and get this benefit whether they plug their car into a standard outlet or install a home EV charger to fully charge their car overnight.

If an Octopus EV customer works through our electrician partner to install a home EV charger, they have the option to roll the cost of the entire installation into their lease, to pay for it in installments. And of course, at the end of the lease, it’s theirs to keep as a great investment in their home.

All a customer needs is a place to install an EV charger that is on the same circuit as their energy meter, and to be an Octopus Energy customer to unlock the free-home charging offer.”

Which EV brands does your plan currently offer?

Octopus EV delivers incredible savings of $3,000-$7,000+ by leasing pre-owned electric cars from the last couple model years. The best kept secret in driving is that electric cars drive like new — smooth, silent, and quick as ever — even after years on the road. Our cars are carefully vetted for battery health, mechanical condition, clean history, and appearance.

We offer a range of the most popular electric car models. Our most popular models are the Tesla Model 3 in both the Base and Long Range trim, the Model Y Long Range, and the Chevy Bolt, both the original Bolt and the Bolt EUV. We also offer the VW ID.4, the Ford Mustang Mach-E and the Audi e-Tron, and sometimes other models month by month.

Will there be other brands available too?

The models we offer will continue to grow and in the future you’ll see more SUVs as the number of these models increases.

Is it necessary to sign up for Octopus energy to also lease a used EV through your EV program?

You can get an electric car from Octopus EV regardless of who your energy provider is. You just need to sign up for Octopus Energy to get the benefit of free home charging.

At any point during your lease that you change to Octopus, your free home charging benefit will kick in. We have customers who are in the middle of an energy plan with a competitor but when this runs out they’re planning to switch to Octopus to get the best value for EV charging.

Does Octopus Energy generate all its own clean electricity, or does it use renewable energy credits and offset carbon emissions from utility electricity?

Texas produces more renewable energy than any other state in the US and we’re proud to source 100% renewable, homegrown energy from the Texas turbines or solar farms to each customer’s home.

For the customers who lease your EVs, is a down payment required before the monthly payments begin?

Standard pricing for Octopus EV leases in Texas is $2,000 down plus the first monthly payment due at signing. There’s no hidden fees, taxes or other costs that get tacked on to that amount or the monthly payment. What you see is what you pay.

After you get approved for a lease, we’re able to adjust the down payment up or down, to get as low as $0 down and the first monthly payment due at signing.

Is it possible for a person in Texas who lives in a condo or apartment to lease one of your EVs and charge at public chargers for free?

We have many customers who live in condos or apartments. Some of these customers are taking advantage of EV chargers installed in their buildings, which may be free or which may be pay-per-use.

If an apartment dweller doesn’t have chargers at their building, we generally recommend Teslas as the Supercharger network is widely available in the Houston area. These customers don’t get to access free home charging (unless they move into a house and switch to Octopus Energy during their lease) but they still save $3,000-$7,000+ on their lease, plus much more from not buying gas.

Are your EVs available in cities and towns throughout Texas?

We’re based in Houston and we love a personalized service, so in the Houston metro area we currently deliver the car to the customer’s doorstep.

For customers in Texas outside of the Houston metro area, we offer the option to pick the car up or for us to ship it to them — they can pick it up from the nearest location of our vehicle logistics partner, a dealership group which has locations across Texas.

About how long does it take from start to finish to sign up and begin driving one of your EVs?

Octopus is known for exceeding expectations that customers have for their electric companies and certainly for car dealers. We make getting an electric car the experience that you wish car shopping could always be.

First, we have the option for a 100% online process, with support from EV Specialists whenever needed. Customers can select their car model, color, and lease plan, then get approved and lock in their order all in one day if they want. Then customers can kick back and let us do the rest of the car shopping process.

Once you’ve placed your order, we source and deliver your selected car to you. We usually have some vehicles on hand which we can deliver immediately. Otherwise the timeline is 2-3 weeks depending on the model you select.

We deliver your car to your doorstep and you get to see it in real life before signing the lease, and we even include a 3-day window to make sure you love it or you can return it, no questions asked.

Do the individuals who lease your EVs get vehicle insurance on their own, or through your EV program?

The Octopus EV lease includes some unique benefits in addition to free home charging — notably all scheduled maintenance and tire replacements when needed due to wear. And maintenance and tires are addressed with a mobile mechanic who comes to your home or office. This is all included in your monthly payment, which also includes an extension of the manufacturer’s comprehensive warranty for your entire lease.  

Our lease is like a traditional lease in that customers do select their own personal insurance policy and get this separately.  This makes it easy to incorporate it with family or multi-car household car insurance policies.